Australian Retail Council - ARC

Australian Retail Council - ARC The single voice for Australian retail. Let's talk shop.

Australian Retail Council (ARC) represents the $444 billion retail sector (which equates to one-fifth of Australia's GDP), 12,000+ retail members and their 1.4 million employees nationwide. ​

We’re pleased to welcome Shopify as an ARC partner.For retailers, the challenge isn’t simply having a digital presence. ...
28/09/2026

We’re pleased to welcome Shopify as an ARC partner.

For retailers, the challenge isn’t simply having a digital presence. It’s creating commerce experiences that attract customers, drive conversion and support sustainable growth.

Shopify helps businesses build and grow their commerce operations, and through our partnership, will bring its expertise and insights to ARC’s community of Australian retailers.

We look forward to working with Shopify and creating more opportunities for retailers to learn, connect and stay ahead of a rapidly evolving commerce landscape.

Welcome to the ARC partner community, Shopify.

Learn more about Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/au

25/09/2026

Manners matter.

Frankie Johnston from the Manners Matter Initiative is addressing the decline in basic manners and common courtesy, with a particular focus on respect for people working in retail.

ARC CEO Chris Rodwell joined Frankie to support the initiative and its focus on positivity and common courtesy.

Simple things can make a difference: saying “please”, “thank you” and “excuse me”, putting your phone away when being served at the checkout, and showing patience towards older people and those who may not speak fluent English.

People working in customer-facing roles are at the forefront of person-to-person interactions every day. A little courtesy can go a long way.

Find out more about the Manners Matter Initiative: https://themmi.com.au/

Peak hiring periods can put extra pressure on payroll and HR teams, especially when onboarding casual and part-time empl...
23/09/2026

Peak hiring periods can put extra pressure on payroll and HR teams, especially when onboarding casual and part-time employees.

Getting employee details right from the start, embedding Payday Super into your processes and using technology to reduce manual admin can help keep payments on track.

Rest can provide practical guidance and tools to help make super administration simpler, including Rest Pay*.

Speak to the Rest team: https://visit.rest.com.au/si3atc

Product issued by Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd. Before deciding to join or stay, consider the PDS and TMD available at http://rest.com.au/pds and whether it’s appropriate for you.

*Rest Pay Clearing House: Issued by ClickSuper Pty Ltd. Before deciding to join or stay, read PDS & TMD at http://rest.com.au/pds & PDS at http://visit.rest.com.au/wrkrpds . Consider if appropriate for you.

Peak season is underway. With Black Friday, Cyber Weekend and Christmas still ahead, now is the time for retailers to ta...
22/09/2026

Peak season is underway. With Black Friday, Cyber Weekend and Christmas still ahead, now is the time for retailers to take stock and prepare for the run home.

Join Australia Post’s Business Talks: Peak Halftime Huddle on Wednesday 7 October for insights into customer behaviour, retail performance and network trends shaping the remainder of the season.

The session will cover:

The Ops Report with forecasts, volume insights and final sending dates from Australia Post’s Sunshine West parcel facility.

Customer Sentiment and what Australians are buying now, including what’s changed since pre-peak forecasts.

Peak Performer Pivots and how leading retailers are adapting to the market.

Hear from Chris Rodwell, CEO of the Australian Retail Council, alongside leaders from She’s On The Money, Adairs Group, Wesfarmers Health and Kip&Co.

📅 Wednesday 7 October 2026
🕐 1:00–2:00pm AEDT
💻 Online

Register free: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/5462346/FA27C9B9FE41E9A58A1BC2C0D0321FF7?partnerref=ARCFB

Highlights from the Parliamentary Friends of Retail Group Event 2026.ARC hosted the Parliamentary Friends of Retail Grou...
17/09/2026

Highlights from the Parliamentary Friends of Retail Group Event 2026.

ARC hosted the Parliamentary Friends of Retail Group Event 2026 at Australian Parliament House yesterday during Parliamentary sitting week, bringing together Members of Parliament, Senators and senior retail leaders to strengthen engagement between Parliament and Australia's retail sector.

Guests heard from ARC CEO Chris Rodwell, Co-Chairs Jerome Laxale MP, Mary Aldred MP and Allegra Spender MP, and Aleks Spaseska, Managing Director, Kmart Group.

Thank you to our Co-Chairs for their continued support, and to Kmart Group for making this year's event possible.

Check out the event highlights here: https://www.retail.org.au/arc-events/parliamentary-friends-of-retail-group-event

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Sydney for the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026. Across a full day of keynotes, panels, ...
16/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Sydney for the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026.

Across a full day of keynotes, panels, fireside chats and demonstrations, retail and technology leaders explored how AI is moving from experimentation towards practical application, measurable outcomes and value at scale.

The program covered customer and commercial growth, smarter operations and supply chains, workforce capability and productivity, and the foundations for responsible AI.

A special thank you to Deloitte for proudly bringing the Summit to life, our Event Partners Adobe, American Express, Shopify and Snowflake, and every speaker, panellist and attendee who contributed to the day.

We’ll continue working with retailers and industry to turn the opportunities of AI into practical action and competitive advantage.

View event highlights: https://www.retail.org.au/arc-events/arc-retail-ai-summit-2026

Build confidence – Foundations, data & governance The final sessions at the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026 explored how organ...
15/09/2026

Build confidence – Foundations, data & governance

The final sessions at the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026 explored how organisations need to move from experimentation to responsible, sustainable AI adoption.

Glenn Fahey from ARC led a discussion with Stu Scotis (Deloitte); Wayne Grenfell from 7-Eleven; and Mariko Lawson from Amazon, covering data, governance, cybersecurity, privacy and responsible implementation.

The conversation then moved from trust as a safeguard to trust as a commercial asset, with Emily Dahdah from ARC, and Patricia Routledge (she / her / hers) from IKEA Australia and New Zealand, exploring how confidence in AI can support stronger retail brands.

Proudly brought to you by Deloitte, with thanks to Adobe, American Express, Shopify and Snowflake.

Enable people: Leadership, workforce & productivity at the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026 AI transformation is not only about...
15/09/2026

Enable people: Leadership, workforce & productivity at the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026

AI transformation is not only about technology - it also depends on how organisations prepare their people, build capability and embed new tools into everyday work.

Fleur Brown, Chief Industry Engagement & Marketing Officer, ARC, led a panel with Ben Fish, Head of Workforce Transformation, Deloitte Digital, and Kate Russell, Founding Principal, Hum(ai)n, on building AI capability and embedding new tools into everyday work.

The conversation continued with Kenny Heatley, Principal Media Advisor, ARC, and Olivia Hitchens, Co-Founder and Chief Legal Officer, LeaseR, exploring how AI is changing the property and legal industries.

Proudly brought to you by Deloitte, with thanks to our Event Partners Adobe, American Express, Shopify and Snowflake.

The conversation continues at the ARC Retail AI Summit, with a focus this afternoon on moving beyond pilots and putting ...
15/09/2026

The conversation continues at the ARC Retail AI Summit, with a focus this afternoon on moving beyond pilots and putting useful intelligence into the hands of store teams.

Irving Lee, Retail Lead (Asia), Retail & Consumer Goods Industries, Microsoft, shared insights into how leading retailers are scaling AI and where Australia sits in that journey.

Leslie Lorenz and Travis Murphy from Snowflake demonstrated how governed AI can bring together sales, inventory, customer and workforce data to support faster, better-informed decisions in store.

David Phillips, Partner, Deloitte Digital, followed with a demonstration on ‘Your future workforce’ featuring AI agents.

Proudly brought to you by Deloitte, with thanks to our Event Partners Adobe, American Express, Shopify and Snowflake.

Grow revenue: Customer & commercial growth at the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026 The Grow revenue sessions explored how retai...
15/09/2026

Grow revenue: Customer & commercial growth at the ARC Retail AI Summit 2026

The Grow revenue sessions explored how retailers are applying AI across personalisation, marketing, search and digital experiences to drive customer and commercial growth.

Fleur Brown (ARC), led a panel with Joe Adler (Rocket Agency), Carly Lynch Adobe), Jeremy Nicholas (Telstra) and Michelle Anderson(Woolworths Group).

The discussion was followed by a fireside chat between James Johnson (Shopify) and Blake England (JB Hi-Fi), focused on making AI commercial.

Later on, in the 'Retail Leadership Spotlight', Fleur Brown from ARC, spoke with Vivek Pradhan, General Manager - Data, AI & Loyalty, Bunnings, about Bunnings’ AI transformation from strategy through to implementation.

Together, the sessions highlighted practical opportunities for retailers to use AI to improve customer experiences and drive growth as well as, where AI is creating new opportunities for retailers to improve forecasting, inventory, pricing, supply chain resilience and operational efficiency.

Proudly brought to you by Deloitte, with thanks to our Event Partners Adobe, American Express, Shopify and Snowflake.

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